COLLEGE SOFTBALL: Mercer hoping home field can propel it to Region 19 title

By RICH FISHER, For The Trentonian

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

There’s going to be some excitement in West Windsor this weekend. At least for folks who enjoy good softball.

And Ryan Zegarski wants everyone to be a part of it.

For the first time in the nine years that Zegarski has been head coach at Mercer County Community College, the Vikings are hosting the four-team Region XIX Tournament this Saturday and Sunday.

“We are really excited about this,” Zegarski said. “We’re hoping that the local community will come out and support their team; or just come out to see some great softball. A lot of the players out here will be going on to four-year schools and it will be entertaining to watch. The tournament is wide open so we expect some great games and the school is doing a great job getting everything prepared.”

The tournament starts Saturday when third-seeded Mercer (25-16, 8-5 region) meets second-seeded Morris (36-17, 11-3) at 10 a.m., followed by top-seeded Del-Tec Owens (21-2, 13-1) against fourth-seeded Burlington (34-14, 8-6) at noon. The first-round losers play an elimination game at 2, and the two winners meet at 4.

Things resume Sunday with the winner of game three meeting the loser of game four at 11. The survivor of that meets Saturday’s undefeated team at 1, and an “if necessary” game is slated for 3.

Morris earned the second seed by sweeping the Vikings, 9-1 and 7-4 last Wednesday.

“We didn’t do great against them, but it’s tough to beat a team three times in a row,” Zegarski said. “It’s tough to beat anybody. They’ll bat last and be the home team on our field, but we have an advantage in that our girls can sleep in their own beds, they don’t’ have to get in vans and travel, we have a shorter drive to the field.”

Mercer is gunning for its first region title since 2010. Del Tech Owens has won the last two years to earn a trip to the NJCAA Division II National Tournament, which is held in Clinton, Miss., this year.

MCCC gave Owens its only loss of the season.

“This year, for the first time I can remember, it’s a very open tournament, anyone can win it,” Zegarski said. “Even though Owens kind of ran away with it in the standings, the scores of their games were a lot closer than they have been.”

The coach plans on pitching Kiele Eichlin against Morris, and coming back with Stacie Denucci in game two. Denucci was the winning pitcher against Owens.

“We’re as good as any of the teams in it. We’ll just have to see what happens. It comes down to whoever makes the big play, whoever gets that big two-out hit and whoever makes that big pitch when they have to.”

When asked what she thought of her first season as a college head softball coach, the former Rancocas Valley High standout gave a classic Yogi-ism.

“I expected it to be harder than I expected ... if that makes sense,” said Sweeney after completing arguably the greatest season of any first-year softball coach in Princeton University history. “I knew there would be bumps in the road throughout the year, as every team and coaching staff experiences them. It was just a matter of what kind of bumps and how quickly we could all rebound.

“What I did expect was to enjoy being on the ball field every day with an exceptional group of young women. Certainly, I learned a lot.”

As did her players, who made an impressive turnaround after going 14-32 overall and 8-12 in the Ivy League in 2012.

Princeton went 27-19 this season for its best record since 34-19 in 2006. Its 12-8 Ivy record is the school’s best since the 2008 squad went 18-2.

The Tigers recorded the most wins under a first-year coach in program history, and Sweeney’s winning percentage of .587 is second best for a rookie mentor behind Diane Schumacher, who went 12-7 for a .706 mark in 1982.

“Wins are a product of the girls vision for what they want the program to look like, and being willing to work harder than ever to get there,” said Sweeney, passing her accomplishments off to the players. “I’m blessed to be a small part of their college softball careers.”

In looking at the season as a whole, despite not making the Ivy playoffs, Princeton showed the kind of progress that can be built upon. The Tigers lose just five seniors and five of their top six hitters are underclassmen.

Peyton (8-8, 2.09) will also be missed on the mound, as will senior Liza Kuhn (6-6, 2.74), but freshman Shanna Christian will be back after going 10-5 with 3.00 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 79.1 innings.

“There was definitely a lot of improvement,” Sweeney said. “The team was committed to being the best version of themselves this season.

“Overall, I believe the seniors are satisfied with how they finished up and for the momentum they left behind. They expected a lot of the team this year and the underclassmen responded. It was a lot of fun, and for a while there we were contenders for the South (Division title).”

Sweeney, who is just four years out of college, said what made her happiest was how they came together as a team.

“We talked a lot throughout the season about committing to a goal and a vision that’s much bigger than any one person,” she said. “It’s special to see a team come together, believe in each other, and see the results of that on the field and beyond.”

The winner of that game meets the winner of second-seeded Montclair (37-3) and fifth-seeded William Paterson (19-19) on Friday at 3 p.m. The loser plays the winner of the game between top-seeded Rowan (35-5) and sixth-seeded Kean (24-15-1) on Friday at 1.

All of yesterday’s games were at the site of the higher seed. The remainder of the tournament will be played at Rowan, which is the defending champion. TCNJ is looking for its first NJAC title since 2000.

RIDER SLUMPING: After an encouraging start to its MAAC season, the young Rider team has lost seven straight conference games to fall to 8-38 overall and 3-11 in league play. The Broncs have three games remaining, including a home MAAC doubleheader with Fairfield Saturday.

Although her average has slipped to .317 (still pretty good for a freshman), Allentown High grad Dana Sensi continues to lead the Broncs with 27 RBIs and six home runs.